Glucose is burnt in the brain with every single decision we make. The simple fact that we have to make thousands of miniscule decisions in our life every day from the most basic (should I brush my teeth now) through to the more obvious (what shall we have for dinner) means we constantly are burning this fuel. As such; clutter becomes a real issue to our decision-making (and can heavily deplete our subsequent energy stores) because we are constantly weighing up whether to de-clutter that shelf, that wardrobe, that room, that office today, tomorrow, the next day and the day after that. It begins to frustrate us! I’m sure that resonates with many of us but yet we still don’t de-clutter.

Why do we have clutter? We make excuses. And we continue to do this until we start to accept it as a given. Excuses are nothing more than bullshiting ourself. Simple as that.

Your clutter creates more chaos in your schedule. It impacts your productivity, it is always there, it won’t change. You need to accept responsibility and change the habits that got you here. And start the process. It’s a habit. You can improve and break the bad habit. Acknowledge that clutter isn’t ok and the impact it’s having on your life. Own it.

Stats on clutter;

• 82% people believe their quality of life would be significantly better if they were organised
• 44% say they make bad food choices when their home is messy
• 77% of people say they are more productive when their home is tidy
• 53% if people say that when their space is disorganised they completely lose all motivation

So here’s how to overcome it in 6 steps…

1. Make a list in your phone or with pen/paper and note what is cluttered and why it bothers you. This process alone starts to stimulate your subconscious  and the amygdala receptors in your brain that we need to make a change!
2. Second, look at your schedule NOW. Find 1 hour in your schedule within the next fortnight.
3. Identify how much time you can commit to de-clutter. Pick the space that needs the de-cluttering. Or even pick a space within a space (ie. draws within your office)
4. Visualise what the result will be when you’ve finished. And this result isn’t just after you finished de-cluttering it. This is the result for eternity.
5. Everything you touch in that space goes into 4 piles – bin, donate, keep or relocate. No excuses. Everything finds a pile.
6. Every item you decide to keep needs a defined space. When you mix varying genres of things together, it also clutters your brain when you need to find things at short notice.

How do I de-clutter the objects that “can’t be de-cluttered”?

• Sentimental objects – Take a picture of it rather than keep it! Are you holding onto something just for the sake of it?
• The “I might need this in the future” object. Throw it away. You don’t need it that much and, if you do, buy it again.
• Clothes. Why do we keep clothes? They represent that you can’t let go of the past! It’s something you wore and the fact you haven worn it to <insert special occasion> means that it is no longer you. You need to let go of these things. You are not wasting money – it’s a sunk cost and has already been spent. You are not wasting things. Holding on to these things creates a scarcity mindset.
• “We don’t want to be caught out”. Collecting things and having multiples of anything (colours/variety’s/etc). Unless you use them – you DO NOT need them. A common example of this is someone that has 15 pairs of the same Nike’s.

So how do I maintain this for eternity?

Sticking to a system means you will need to de-clutter less frequently. Let’s talk about the perfect system you have in your house – where you keep your plates/bowls. You know exactly where they are at all times when they are required. This is a perfect system. Everyone knows where they are at every single time. It’s a system that has happened for years and years. It’s now habit. And you stick to that habit.

Here’s 10 ways to sustain the de-clutter in your life..

1. Maybe consider renting a skip bin once a year? The investment might be around $400 but will absolutely force you to fill it!
2. Invest in the tools you need to maintain your personal organisation; spend time on a platform like Pinterest to get ideas on what will functionally work for you.
3. Make sure the organised space is organised! This will calm your mind.
4. Always question “what is your items place” – put it there and make it habit.
5. Always return things to their correct place. You need to form this habit. Trying clothes on – put the ones you don’t use back on the hangers – put things in their place.
6. Just do it now. Don’t leave plates in the sink until tonight. Don’t tell yourself you’ll pick up those clothes later.
7. Some is better than none. Just get it started!
8. Have a re-set hour built into 1-2 nights a week. Where you can pick an area and get it back to ‘perfect’
9. “Company is coming.” We all know the feeling when we find out someone is coming to our house and we madly clean the place up and tidy our clutter! So why is it ok for our guests to see a perfectly formed our house but for us to live in a cluttered house? A way to quickly get your de-cluttering into gear is always when you know someone is coming to your house. Consider regularly getting your friends over so it forces you to go through the de-clutter process once or twice a week.
10. Make your bed every single morning. Kick your day off with nailing a task perfectly. Starts your mindset on the success path.

The bottom line on clutter. You will only be more organised and less cluttered if you have less things. Identify what you really need and use and remove the rest from your life. It not only takes up physical space but takes up an unbelievable amount of your head space.

Live the life you love! Happy de-cluttering.